31 Days
by Spelbound
Summary: AU. THxSM. He had not taken into account something stronger than money and power. Something thicker than water and ran deeper than blood.
1. Chapter 1: Breath

Well, well, well. My first Black cat Fan-fiction. Inspired by a really cool dream I had. By the way, this stories main characters will be Train Heartnet and Saya Minatsuki. I will attempt to keep them in character, but Train will be in his "Chronos Days" attitude, so expect to be frozen over with his coldness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat. If I did, Saya would not have died. Nor do I own the song 'Breath' by Breaking Benjamin.

31 Days Ch. 1

Breath

* * *

_ You take the breath right out of me. _

_ You left a hole where my heart should be. _

_ You got to fight just to make it through, _

_ 'cause I will be the death of you._

* * *

Saya Minatsuki sighed, for what felt like the 100th time that long day. Her teachers had been really rattling her already shaken confidence in herself, throwing formulas this way and that, warning that they would be on the upcoming final. But Saya's main problem was not studying, no she probably studied more than all the kids in her high school combined. She just had a horrid memory for formulas and the such.

Her keys rattled as she unlocked the door to her one person apartment, grating on her nerves. _Stupid door,_ she thought, _it won't open…_ now all she really wanted to do was hit something…or sit down and cry. Honestly, both sounded like good options at the moment.

"Finally…" she muttered as the stubborn green door finally gave way to her will and swung open revealing her living room. She walked in, dumped her bag on the couch, and strolled in to the kitchen. Saya grabbed a glass from the cupboard above her head - though she had to stretch a little bit in order to reach- and set the clear glass down on the counter with a _ting_. Then she turned and walked to her right, opening up the refrigerator door, and pulling out the carton of milk. She walked briskly over to the cup, pulled the lid off the jug and poured the milk in to about halfway up the glass. She set the jug back into it's proper place and grabbed the glass, raised it to her lips, and took a big gulp of the lifesaving liquid.

"Ahhh….nothing like milk after a long day!" She exclaimed quietly and leaned back against the counter. _I wonder what Yuuka's doing…or rather how she and her boyfriend are doing. It's odd…all of my friends have boyfriends…except for me. Not that I'm longing for one…but occasional company would be nice…oh, who'm I kidding? Who in their right mind would want to be with me: a tomboy who has an aim like a sharpshooter with a gun, concentrates on homework and reading and loves to run? Plus, my favorite thing to wear is a yukata. Not your normal teenager…that's for sure. _

_Wow…_ she thought to herself, _no wonder kids at school think I'm weird…__Oh well, time too get back to work. _

* * *

"You understand how important this is to me…right? How much I…I need…" A deep voice sounded into a darkened room. The room was so dark in fact, that it was near impossible to see the man's face, let alone the young man that he was speaking to.

"I do not need you to go into details about how much you need this girl. All I need to know is where she lives." A deeper voice commanded, annoyed by this point as he wondered to himself as to why he was working with such a man.

"To the point. I like that." A smile could be heard in the older man's voice. "In fact I-"

"I do not care about what you are thinking about. I just need to know where the girl lives." The second voice said, restrained anger tight in his baritone. He had to stay cool, calm and collected. That was what Creed had told him the very first day…but this man was trying his patience.

"Very well," the man sighed. "Just…try not to hurt her." he told the younger man, resigned happiness in his voice. A grunt could be heard from the younger man and as he turned away to open the door, the older man could see the silluaitte of a slim figure, tall and clad in a trench cloak with messy gravity defying hair. As the younger man closed the door behind him, a flash of some color could be seen by the older man.

He sat for a few seconds, registering what he had just seen. This young man...his eyes had been one of an unusual color: a searing gold, glinting like frozen ice. This young man…was a force to be reckoned with. He would most definitely get her now! The man thought, a smile emerging, exposing his yellowing teeth to the air in his office. He would be with his dearest soon…soon. And the smile only grew as he thought of the young man with golden eyes. Now, all he had to do was wait, wait for the devil to come back his angel in tow.

* * *

Saya sat back in her chair, a creaking noise emitting from the old wood. She winced in slight pain at the awful noise.

"Jeez, be nice to my poor ears, chair-chan, k? They're really sensitive." She grumbled as she stood up from her chair and stretched. Saya reached foreword and looked at the heavy textbook she had just been copying extensive algebra problems from and sighed. She was understand the homework fine, but the teacher had decided that today she would pour down the problems on the students. Then again, Mrs. Ari always had been a bit of a slave driver.

Saya grinned widely at the thought, a funny image popping up in her mind, causing her to chuckle. _A slave driver, that she was _Saya thought as she walked over to the kitchen to grab another glass of milk.

As she put the container away, she noted how low her stash of milk was getting.

"Hmmm….I should probably run to the grocery store soon, or I'll be out of milk…" She muttered to herself, and took a couple gulps of milk out of the glass. She swallowed the rest of the milk in her mouth, and sighed happily as she lowered the glass. "Mmm….milk during extensive homework is always the best!" She exclaimed, and looked outside through the window in her kitchen, taking in the almost-black skies around her apartment. "It really is getting late…and the homework isn't due tomorrow…" decided on what she would do, she walked out of the kitchen, milk in hand and walked over to the book.

Just before she touched the heavy back cover to close it, Saya noticed something odd. She had been working in page 675...but now it was on page 677..and there was no breeze in her house, for no windows were open. A sudden chill ran up her spine and she stiffened in fear. Quicker than the mortal eye could see, a hand shot in front of her and covered her mouth. The scent impaled her senses, and Saya immediately recognized it: chloroform. Her emerald eyes widened as she felt the drug begin to take effect. Her eyes drooped and her body sagged to the ground. She was released, and in her stupor of sleep, she heard a deep baritone speak.

"I've come to deliver some bad luck."

And a flash of cat-like golden eyes was all she saw before sleep claimed her and she drifted off unwillingly.

The man who sat in his room would be waiting for much longer than he had originally anticipated. For the fates had decided that the young man deserved a chance at heaven and the girl deserved a chance to live.

The man had not taken into account something stronger than money and power. Something that was thicker than water, and ran deeper than blood.

* * *

Well…how was it? Good? Great? Awful? Trash It?

Tell me what you think! Plus, if you did not get what the 'narrator' was talking about at the end, you need a smack upside the head.

Thanks for reading! Chapter 2, Coming Soon!

"_And there stood third reason that she was sure she was dreaming, her mother stood before her, clad in her wedding gown. But her mother was dead."_


	2. Chapter 2: Oblivion

So, SO sorry about the late update. My beta is taking FOREVER with it, and I got to impatiant. Eh Heh...

Thanks to all who reviewed, Faved, and Subscribed!

I know I screwed up Saya's personality in this chapter...but it was ment to be like that. It shows how she changes with various people. I won't give away a lot...

Poor Train- er Captor Cough Cough He had no words in this chapter... I tried to make him seem all cold...

The perspective changes a couple times. The normal font is Saya's POV. Ital. is 3rd person POV.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat nor the song 'Oblivion'. Or even the latin song Salmo 150. I hate that song...it's really tough. Espically the saprano part...**

* * *

31 Days Ch. 2

Oblivion

* * *

_Under the burning sun_

_I take a look around_

_Imagine of this all_

_Came Down_

* * *

"_La La La La La La La…."_

There were about three reasons why I was 99 percent sure that I was dreaming.

"_Lau date Dominium, In Sanctis E-uhs…"_

_The small group of girls sang strongly, much more so than the other choirs that had preformed. In fact, it seemed that there were much more people singing than there actually were. The Alto's sang strong and deeply in their assigned parts, the second sopranos remained true to their middle harmony of "La, La, La's" and the First Sopranos sang in their high pitched voices, for although their part was extremely hard, none of them failed to hit the notes or go off pitch. The group truly worked as a team._

_The sight was natural too all in the cathedral except for one girl, who should be singing the first Soprano part, but she was too confused at the moment to. _

'_What….what I am I doing here…?' She wondered to herself, glancing down at the black velvet top of the choir girls' sleek black dresses. She touched the dress, as if to make sure that it was real._

'_How…how did I get here…this isn't right…it seems…familiar…' She pondered, and glanced down at the rows of seats in front of the group, at audience who sat in rapture. 'Wait…I know this! This is-'_

The first reason: I was at choir festival, yes, but one that happened last year.

_Saya looked around her now, wondering why she was not receiving any looks from her fellow students or the director. She gently prodded another soprano- Ani - who stood next to her, but received no reaction from the normally snappish girl. _

_Saya groaned in exasperation, very annoyed - yet curious - at this point. Deciding that stepping off the stage would get at least someone's attention, she did so. But to her surprise, no one seemed to even notice her._

"_Way to make a girl feel unimportant…" She muttered to herself as she strolled off the stage and onto the ground. Still, no one seemed to take notice of the missing soprano. _

"_Om-ni spiritus, Lau-det Dominium…"_

_Recognizing the hardest part of the song coming up, She involuntarily tensed up…_

"'_Om-ni Spiritus, Lau-Det Dominium'_

_Lau date Dominium, Lau date Dominium_

_All-E-Lu-Ja!"_

_Saya relaxed slightly, laughing quietly to herself. "I forgot how well we did that High A." And with that smile on her face, she strolled on. Then , she heard a voice that made her jump in surprise._

"_Woooh! Gooooo Saya!" _

_Turning around in shock, she stared at the girl._

The second reason: There stood my best friend Eri. But Eri had moved away three months ago.

_Saya smiled slightly at her friend, then realizing what Eri had said, blinked in confusion as the smile slid from her face. "Saya." was what the girl had said, but she wasn't standing up there…_

_She shook her head slightly, more than just slightly confused, but gave up, letting the dream take her where it will. _

_At that thought, she continued her walk around the cathedral, finding out the hard way that, although no one could see her, she could not, in fact, walk through walls. _

_Saya shook her head, trying to get the stars out of her line of vision. "Wow…that hurt…" she muttered to herself, rubbing her head with her hand. She sighed and turned to her left and continued her walk, but paused when she caught sight of a mirror hanging to her right. She turned, taking in the beautiful craftsmanship the mirror displayed._

_The mirror was about a foot taller than her, with golden etching along the wooden frame. She leaned closer to it, trying to make out the tiny words on the frame. _

"_In the lord we pray. In this lord we stay, and hold our hand up high in praise. In him we find our peace and freedom. In him, we find our heaven and sanctuary. So we raise him up with all our power and let him define us, in peace and in love." _

_Saya blinked a couple of times, staring at the frame in wonder. The words had struck something in her, though she wasn't quite sure what exactly. All she knew was that the words sounded awfully familiar. _

_She turned around to walk away, when she heard something that made her stop. _

"_Saya…"_

_Her heart galloped in her chest and her emerald eyes widened, and she spun around, hardly believing what she saw._

_She saw herself. But it was not quite herself, something was odd about the reflection in the mirror. She walked up to the glass, her double copying her movements. Saya ran a hand through her chin length brown hair, and her double did her exact movements. She frowned, and leaned forward, her nose almost touching the glass in front her as she studied that figure. _

_Her eyes widened when she saw something behind her. Something achingly familiar. She spun around to face the figure standing behind her and her emerald eyes widened in shock, and her jaw slackened._

Number three reason that I was sure I was dreaming: My mother stood before me, clad in her wedding dress. But my mom was dead.

"_M-mo…" She tried to speak, but could not, for that lump in her throat would not allow speech to pass._

"_Saya…" Her mother said, smiling radiantly down at her daughter, "How I have missed you." She told the younger girl, love filling her voice._

_Saya felt as though she might burst from the happiness that was rising inside her. Suddenly, she was not the strong sixteen year old young woman with walls of ice around her, she was a child- one who had missed her mother so much. "Mom!" She cried, and leaped toward the woman and threw her arms around her. And she cried._

"_Shhh…Saya, it's ok. Moms here…" she murmured to her troubled daughter, her hand rubbing circles on Saya's back. Soon, her tears began to dissipate. "There now. No more crying, ok?" and she felt Saya's head nod in her shoulder. "Good, now let me have a look at you." And Saya stepped away, feeling a bit foolish, letting her mother look at her. "Oh Saya, how you have grown. And look at your hair. You cut it that short?" she inquired._

"_Yeah, it got in the way when it was long." she muttered, rubbing tears from her face. _

"_Well, you always were a tomboy, that you were." Her mother smiled. _

_Saya's smile slid slightly as a thought passed in her head. "Mom…what are you doing here? I mean, I don't mind seeing you…but…how can you see me?" She questioned._

_Her mother smiled again, "I was sent here to tell you something." _

"_Well, that sounded very divine." Saya muttered, and them looked at her mother again, "What do you have to tell me?"_

"_Well, the 'lord' I guess you could call him, has a plan for you, a…prophesy of sorts. Here…let me find it…" She muttered, and pulled a rolled piece of paper out of the tie held her over-gi shut. "A-hah! Here it is!" she exclaimed to herself, brandishing it. "Now, here we go:_

_**When the world is at war and the flowers die**_

_**A young girl will find her right of way**_

_**She shall travel far and wide**_

_**And meet characters of all sorts**_

_**And she shall be captive of a young man**_

_**One with eyes of fire**_

_**The two shall fight and she shall be fear**_

_**But she should not, for he will not hurt her**_

_**His reasons unclear even to himself**_

_**For she becomes more than a captive**_

_**She is his chance at redemption.**_

_**The girl will not fear him**_

_**Nor should she.**_

_**For it is not the Black Cat **_

_**It is the yellow viper."**_

_Her mother finished with a flurry, and rolled the scroll back up, leaving Saya more confused than ever._

"_Huh? Black Cat? Yellow Viper? Wha…?" _

_But her mother just smiled._

"_You shall know in time my dear. Now…I must go." And with that, she began to fade. _

"_No! Mom, wait! Don't go! I have so many questions!" Saya exclaimed, stepping forward and reaching for her mother with her hand. _

"_I am sorry. But do not fear, for I am always with you." _

"_No mom! Aren't mothers supposed to be overprotective of their daughters?! Shouldn't you be worried? According to some piece of paper, I'm supposed to fall in love! And with some 'guardian' that I do not even know!" She exclaimed in anger and shock._

_But her mother just continued smiling. "Never fear dear. I do not worry for you. You will be safe." And with that, her mother vanished. _

_And as Saya stood, reeling in confusion, the dream began to disappear, raveling into its self, like fire eating away at a scrap of paper. _

_And with a resounding snap, the dream disappeared and Saya fell back into the oblivion of dreamless sleep._

* * *

A soft groan emitted from a much-too-dry throat. Weary eyes blinked open, and winced as light glared into her sensitive irises. She tried to rub her eyes, but something did not permit her to move her hands.

Saya's eyes snapped open wide as she twisted her body around to see her hands bound with rope behind her back.

"Wha-" she murmured quietly to herself, but was startled to hear a deep sigh from out of her line of vision. She twisted her body in order to try to see this mysterious person, but the sudden movement of stopping halted her tries. It was only then, when she glanced around, that she realized that she was in the backseat of a car. Laying across the backseat, to be precise.

A movement caught her eye and she turned her head just in time to have a hand cover her mouth and she smelled the chloroform in the cloth.

'Not again…' She thought as she began to fade. In her sleep-hazed mind, she caught sight of the blurry outline of her captor. Her last thought being was:

'That guy really needs a haircut.'

And then she faded back into the oblivion of sleep, hoping not to have another strange dream of old choirs, dead mothers and prophesies.

* * *

So sorry about the dorky prophesy...I'm obviously not good at them. I revealed to much...i think...

Thanks for reading!

-Spelbound


	3. Chapter 3: At The Beginning

**_Spel: Wack! Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry for the late update! I meant to have it our _last _Friday...but my beta took forever..._**

**_Aww... a mushy song...at least compared to the other two...dark songs. This song doesn't fit the beginning and the middle...but it fits the end! _**

**_ Anyway, thanks so much to all who reviewed! A super long chapter for you! _**

**_Black Cat (c) Kentaro Yabuki_**

**_'At the Beginning' (c) Richard Marx and Donald Lewis_**

_ 31 Days chapter 3_

'_At the beginning' _

* * *

_ We were strangers _

_ Starting out on a journey _

_ Never dreaming _

_ What we'd have to go through _

_ Now here we are _

_ And I'm suddenly standing _

_ At the beginning with you_

* * *

It was dark when Saya woke from her unwilling sleep. The lull of the car's engine rocked her from the warm cocoon of sleep into the dark abyss of consciousness. And Saya, for one of the first times in her life, felt completely and utterly afraid. Afraid of the unknown. But she was not alone, yet that fact only made this trip all that much more fearful.

"Where are we?" she asked the driver in a small voice, much more timid than her normal assertive tone. That change scared her most of all.

She wriggled slightly, so that she was now sitting up, and could see the back of her captor's head over the seat, but it was too dark out to make out much else.

To her annoyance, her captor did not answer her question, but she did not press him on the matter. Who knew what this man was capable of?

The sound of gears shifting caught her attention, and she noted that they were pulling into the parking lot of a shabby looking hotel.

Her captor pulled the car into one of the few slots and turned the machine off. Saya saw him glance at her, then undo the seat-belt and step out of the car. He stood there for a minute, staring at her, and she caught the message. She twisted, trying to undo the belt, but could not reach the clasp with her hands tied as they were.

"Uhh…a little help?" She asked, annoyed, yet somehow nervous. He seemed to sigh, and pulled open the car door.

She was not able to see much of him because of the shadow the car was causing in the moonlight, but what she could see of him she noticed that he seemed lean, not small or short - in fact he looked like he would be tall if he stood at full height- and he had a commanding presence. Not the presence of a killer, but one of someone of great importance, like a prince or king. Somehow…regal.

Saya heard the clasp snap open and flinched a little when the belt whipped out of the holder, barely missing her face as it passed. She flinched even harder when she heard her captor speak for the first time.

"Get up. I'll cut the ropes." his cold voice announced, and Saya sat still in shock for a moment. Her eyes snapped open wide as she heard him sigh lightly, and she scooted backwards out of the car…and very ungracefully fell to the pavement, yelping slightly when her rear made contact with the hard surface.

She glanced up and saw her captor, a strange look on what she could see of his face, like he was lifting an eyebrow in amusement.

"Glad to be a source of entertainment…" she mumbled to herself as she stood, turning her back to him and waited for him to cut the bonds on her hands. She felt a slightly cold object touch her wrists and the barest hint of a tug when the ropes fell free.

She pulled her hands forward, rubbing her sore wrists and turned to face her captor.

"You wait here. I'll check in," he told her shortly, in that same icy voice that belonged to a killer of men.

_'Well, I'm in trouble that's for sure. He sure is scary…but what does he want with me? I'm just a high-school girl. Who would want to kidnap _me_? I mean, I wouldn't kidnap myself, I'm so boring and plain and…_

_What am I doing, thinking about irrelevant things like that? Here I am in the midst of danger and all I can think about is how I don't fit in. Well, I'll have to worry about fitting in with heaven if I don't get my priorities straightened.'_

While Saya was in the midst of her thoughts, she failed to notice some men walking up to her. She woke out of her stupor when she heard a very drunken voice and smelled the pungent odor of alcohol.

"Hey, Sweetie. How about come with us? You'll have fun," one of the burlier men slurred at her in an attempt to entice her. Saya just wrinkled her nose and turned her body away, signaling that she wanted nothing to do with these men.

"No, thank you. I'm waiting for someone." She told them over her shoulder in the best 'cold' voice that she could manage.

"Awww…don't be like that, honey. I promise, you'll have a real good time," the other man told her, obviously more sober than his partner, but no less scary.

Saya wrinkled her nose again, and crossed her arms tightly across her yukata covered chest. "Sorry, I don't go for drunkards."

While she tried to act tough to scare them off, her thoughts were very different from her words. _Where is that guy anyhow! How long does it take to check in?! Not that I trust him at _all_…but he is an assassin…_

She was jerked out of her thoughts as she felt a hand on her butt. Her eyes widened and a vein popped on her forehead.

"What…the…HELL!" She exclaimed, jerking around and lifted her right fist, letting it connect with the man's meaty cheek.

"Oooowwww….what was that for, honey?" The man groaned from his place on the ground at her feet. The other man looked taken a back for a moment, clearly surprised that a girl had wounded his partner.

"Hah! I bet you didn't see that one coming! I hate to disappoint you, but I have a mean right hook!" Saya exclaimed, a huge grin on her face as she raised her right hand in a peace sign. The man she had punched glared at her from the ground, nursing his injured cheek as he glared at the young woman in front of him.

"Why you little bitch! I'll teach you!" The now sober man snarled at her. She grimaced slightly and pulled her hand back in shock.

"Uhh…I should make my escape now, eh?" She laughed slightly in fear, and swiveled around to run. Or at least she tried to, since she was suddenly pulled back against the man's chest.

"OW! Hey, you jerk, watch it! This is my favorite yukata-" She tried to snap, but the sudden feel of a large hand landing roughly on her chest made her clamp her mouth shut.

"OK missy, I tried to be nice and said I'd be gentle, but now you've gone and been a bad girl," he said, his mouth pressed up against her ear, his disgusting breath washing under her nose. "Now it looks like you need to be punished. How about a good spanking, eh Shishio?" The man purred at her, sending chills up her spine. She tried desperately to fight, but the man caught her other arm in his remaining hand, and pulled it across her upper body in a dead-lock. She tried to lift her sandal-clad feet to kick him, but his rough boots covered her small feet.

"Ow…let…me…go!" she exclaimed, voice shrill with fear and pain.

"Heh…I think not, eh Shi- Huh? Shishio?" The man turned his head to stare at his friend, whose eyes had gone wide.

"I-I'm sorry…" he rasped, and a loud bang could be heard from behind him. His body bent unnaturally backwards in death as he fell, blood spurting out of the bullet wound in his middle.

Saya suddenly felt the experience of falling, along with the sharp pain of hitting the pavement again for the second time in a half an hour. She managed to pull her arm up to cover her face and scraped her forearm open on the ground. Gritting her teeth to keep from yelping, she turned over, facing the 'battle' in front of her. Not that it was a battle by any stretch of the imagination. Her captor had his gun pointed straight at the man who had held her just a moment ago, pure malice in his eyes.

"If you don't want to die, I suggest that you leave immediately and do not come in contact with this girl or me ever again," he told the man, his voice stabbing through both the man and Saya.

"Shi…Shi…" the man stuttered, and swallowed. He wanted revenge for his friend, but he knew his limits, "Ok. I'm…I'm going." he dissuaded. The man then turned and ran, almost running over Saya in his sprint to get away from the killer.

Saya still lay there on the pavement, shock written all over her pale face.

"Get up. You're getting your yukata dirty by laying there on the ground." her captor snapped at her. She flinched, and nodded, stumbling slightly in her haste to obey his orders. He was right, since her yukata was white… "Come on. The room's ready." He told her, and as he turned, the moonlight caught his shape and his image was imprinted in her mind.

Messy brown hair, that was a bit long and spiked off in every direction. Tall and clad in all black with a long trench coat. Black boots covered his feet. He wore his shirt unbuttoned at the top all the way down to his mid-chest. Lightly golden skin shone in the moonlight and under his left collarbone there was a black mark, looking like some sort of tattoo. And of course, his golden eyes that had- like his aura- a regal and prideful shine.

Saya was held captive for a moment by those eyes. No bedroom gleam, no happiness, no joy. Just…there. They were…amazing.

"C'mon," her captor said, snapping her out of her revere. She nodded and followed her captor's quick footsteps up to the second floor walkway. He paused in front of the door 202 and pulled a card out of the pocket in his trench coat, slid it in the lock, and the door unlocked with a snap. He held the door open with his hand and looked at Saya, expectant. She looked at him strangely for a moment, then she understood his motive.

"Ah…sorry. A bit slow today." She said with a grin and walked cautiously into the room.

It was small, with two twin beds to her right, both facing a TV that was strapped down tight. _Really, how desperate are people? _She thought, but then remembered her earlier encounter with those men. She shook her head slightly, and returned to her browsing. The only other room in this place was a tiny bathroom, with a sink outside it, against the perpendicular wall.

"Stay here. I'm going to take care of something." Her captor's voice told her and she spun around nearly slipping on her sandals.

"What? What're you going to take care of, hm?" She asked curiously, bending forward slightly with her hands behind her back.

Her captor turned to his right, closing the door behind him. "The body." His cold voice rang, sending shivers down her spine as she remembered the cold body laying below her floor. "And take your shoes off. It's rude to leave them on." he said with finality.

"I-I know that, stupid!" she shouted to the closed door, clearly wanting to have the last word.

"Just _stay _in here. It won't do you good to go wandering," his voice told her from behind the door, and Saya heard the lock snap and his light footsteps walking away.

She sighed, slipping her sandals off and plopping down on one of the beds. "Wow…what a weird week. And a weird guy." She sat there for a moment, just thinking. Then suddenly she jumped up and walked over to the bathroom. "God I stink. I'll take a shower…or not." she said, remembering the guy that held her captive at the moment. "Well…he doesn't seem like a pervert…just a scary killer…" She muttered, toying with the idea, "Ah, why not?" she said, and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

Clad in her yukata, Saya walked into the middle of the room, drying her hair with the small hotel towel. She walked toward the bed and dropped the towel, running a hand through her hair in order to tame it. If anyone had looked closely at her, they would have noticed a mischievous gleam in her green eyes.

"Ok!" She said, pulling both hands into fists and nodding her head once. Saya walked toward the door and studied the lock. It really was not all that complicated…with a grin on her face, she grabbed a bobby pin laying on the table next to her, and slid it in, putting her ear to the lock. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of clicking, and with a triumphant chuckle, open the pad-lock.

Saya slid on her sandals, opening the door slightly in order the peak out. "Ok, he's not here. I'm history!" she exclaimed quietly and snuck out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Wind whipped through her damp hair as she quietly jogged down the stairs, sending a slight chill down her back. "Ok, it's cold." she muttered, crossing her arms, she paused in the back parking lot, and looked back up at the staircase. "Sorry dude, to leave you high-and-dry…but I've got a life, and I want to live it!" She said to the still night air and jogged off down the pathway to the close-by town.

* * *

The plain white door to apartment 202 swung open, and the figure of Saya's captor stood in the doorway. He walked in slowly, pulling his black boots off and leaving them at the doorway before he continued into the lighted room.

To his slight shock, he could not see the girl in the room. "Hmm, maybe she's in the bathroom?" he asked him self quietly, noticing the bathroom door open and the light on. He cleared his throat loudly as a warning before he continued to the small lavatory. _Well, I gave her a warning and she didn't say anything…_ he though as he pushed the door open all the way. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that the room was empty. "What the-" He started to growl, but noticed something on the mirror. He walked closer and peered forward in order to read the faded handwriting.

_**Sorry Mr. Captor, but I've got a life to live. See yah! **_

_**-Saya**_

Her captor closed his yellow eyes as his eyebrow began to twitch and he balled his fists. When he snapped open his eyelids, those haunting eyes glowed a frightening golden, promising pain. "Stupid girl! Does she know where she is?! This town…" He snarled, and spun around his coat flying behind him as he ran to the door- quickly pulled on his boots- and flew out the door, closing it with a slam. "She could be killed…or worse." He murmured as he ran, legs pumping quickly as he followed her trail. If anyone had been watching, all the could have seen was a black blur with a tint of gold.

* * *

Saya ran along the sidewalk, her yukata and sandals not hindering her sprint for freedom. Looking behind her she paused. When she did not notice anything, she grinned in pride.

"Yeah, baby, I lost him!" she exclaimed. Then, turning to continue her run, she finally noticed something important. "Ok, so where am I going to stay? It's dark out…and kinds creepy…" she thought aloud to herself, "Maybe I shoulda thought this plan out more." She said, and sighed deeply, plopping herself down on a bench. "Now what am I going to do? No food, no money and worst of all no milk. Urg! I'm an idiot!" she exclaimed, smacking herself in the forehead.

She sat for a minute, getting her thoughts together. She came to a conclusion on what she should do…but it was probably not the best for her health. "I can't go back, he'll kill me. Or at least be really mad at me. Both are scary options…" She told herself.

Her head snapped up when she noticed a group of men walking on the other side of the road. "Ah! People!" She exclaimed, excited. _Maybe I can stay with them!_ she thought to herself, her eyes wide with happiness. She jumped up off the bench and ran across the road - though she looked both ways first- and ran up to the group of men.

"Hi!" she exclaimed as she ran up to them, happy to find normal human company. Her smile faltered -as well as her step- when the group turned around, now facing the young woman.

_'Ok, scratch the _normal_ part…'_ she thought as she halted, and put her hands up. "Uh…sorry. I thought you were someone else…" she explained, though even to herself fit sounded lame.

"You lookin' for someone sweetheart?" Asked a muscle-bound man with a tattoo on his right bicep asked her, clearly hitting on her.

Poor Saya was not exactly tall at 5'4, and this man was around 6'6. Huge.

"Uh…sorry. I know where he is now…" She said, a fake smile plastered on her pale face.

"Aw, c'mon. You need a place to stay, honey?" The man said, and his group of friends all guffawed stupidly behind him. "Yeah, we'll give you a place to stay." one of them said.

"Now, now. No need to scare off out guest. It's the first we've had in a _while_." The man said, and as Saya turned to run she was grabbed, and pulled up against the huge man. "Now, that was naughty. You need to be punished…but I won't be rude. I'll **share**." and with that, he threw her into the mob of men that he called his friends and gang-members.

Saya's screams could be heard all throughout the alleyway and streets nearby, yet no one came.

"Let…let me GO you bastard!" She yelled with as much bravado as someone could while being shoved around. The group of men stood around her in a circle, laughing as she shoved her around them, touching her breasts and butt in the moment they had her.

"I don't think so sweetie." The leader said as he grabbed her from behind. "I plan on having a little fun." He said, and lowered his mouth to her neck. She whimpered at the strange feel of a man's mouth on her neck, and on fear. She knew what this men wanted. Her eyes widened as he bit her on the neck, and she did something that she hadn't done in a long time. She cried in pain.

"Aw…poor thing. Did we scare you? Sorry." The man said, and lowered his mouth.

"Ahhh!" She screamed in pain and fear, tears streaming down her face. "NO! STOP!" She cried out. _What can I do? I'm…I'm going to be…r-raped._ She took a deep breath, and screamed with all the lung power she had. "HELP! MR. CAPTOR, HELP ME!"

Suddenly, a loud gunshot could be heard. She gasped slightly, suddenly feeling relief sweep through her. She could not see him, since she was held facing the other way, but she knew it was him.

"What the-" the man started to say, then stopped short as he saw the figure standing in the alley entryway. His eyes grew wide as he recognized the man standing there. "It-it's you! You work for Chronos! You're the 'Black Cat'!" He exclaimed, loosening his grip on Saya and she fell to the cement ground, legs no longer able to support her.

"I say that you leave now, and never return. If I see you again, I won't hesitate to shoot. Now leave." He said, his eyes glowing with anger.

"Now hang on, mister. The girl's ours-" One of the men made to the mistake of saying. It was his last words.

The ally rang with the sound of a gunshot, and the men watched as one of their comrades fell, dead.

"Now, _leave_." The man snarled, stepping forward threateningly. The men took the hint, and scattered.

Saya lay on the ground letting her tears fall, scared again. What would he do to her? He had sounded mad. She flinched slightly at the sound of footsteps nearing, and stiffened up waiting for the blow. But it never came.

She lifted her head slightly, peering over to the man who stood over her. She flinched again when she heard his voice.

"Well, that was not smart, running away like that." He said, annoyance in his voice. Yet, he somehow sounded amused.

She looked all the way up at him, and pulled herself up into a sitting position, rubbing the tears from her face. "I…I'm…sorry." She whispered, feeling tired and scared. To her shock, he crouched down to her level, his eyes a bit…was that…sympathetic?

"Close your yukata," he told her. She started a bit, and looked down at her gi, which was pulled open wide, but not wide enough to see her breasts.

"Ah…ok," she whispered, pulling it shut, and securing her obi. She looked at him, reluctance in her green eyes. He stared right back at her, his own eyes not accusing, but sympathetic, though even he could not understand why he was feeling sympathy for this poor scrap of a girl.

He sighed, and stood up, offering his hand to her. She complied, resting her smaller hand in his larger one. The moment that their hands touched, both could feel sparks jolt through their spines. Saya stared at him in slight shock, wondering if he had a small electrocuter in the sleeve of his coat. Her captor was in slight shock as well, never having felt something like that before. He just shook it off as exhaustion.

* * *

_ No one told me I was going to find you _

_ Unexpected what you did to my heart _

_ When I lost hope You were there to remind me _

_ This is the start_

* * *

"C'mon," he said, and pulled the girl to her feet. Saya wobbled a bit, was able to right herself enough to stand. "Yah know, you really are something." He told her, and she looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean?" she asked a bit timidly.

"I mean that you were attacked twice within a three hour period, and yet you're able to recover quickly from it," he said, something strange in his voice, "I've know girls that would have fainted from that."

"Well…I guess since I live alone, I've had to toughen myself up a bit." Saya said with a bright smile. Her captor sighed again.

"We need to get back to the hotel." He said bluntly, and turned on his heel, starting to walk away.

"O-okay," She said, wobbling a bit, but still able to walk, "Hey…that guy back there…he called you 'Black Cat'….what is that?" She inquired shyly.

Her captor paused, looking at her. He cleared his throat. "Well…I work for an organization called Chronos. It has two branches, the Assassination Branch, and the Sweeper Branch. I'm in the Assassin Branch. We all have code names that we go by. Since I'm number thirteen…I'm called Black Cat. All bad luck." He finished with a grin.

"But…how do you know which number is what?" She asked, continuing walking by his side.

"We all have numbers branded somewhere on us." He told her, a bit more solemnly.

"Were is your number?" She asked yet again. She flinched slightly when he looked sharply at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you by it…I was just curious…" She muttered.

He gave a short sigh through his nose, almost in laughter. "No, you did not offend me. I'm just not used to people asking me that question. It's here." He said, stopping and facing her. She stopped as well, feeling a bit apprehensive.

He just pulled the left side of his shirt a bit more to the side, and his number was there, black inked right under his left collarbone...the roman numerals of number XIII.

"Ah." was all Saya could say. She cleared her throat and started walking again, her captor joining her as he fixed hid coat and shirt. Saya looked over to her right, and saw the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

The sun was rising over the distant mountain peaks, gleaming in its colorful swirl of pinks, yellows, purples, reds and oranges. It seemed so beautiful…so harmonious, contrasting greatly with the troubled town behind her.

"Come on, or I'm going to leave you behind!" Her captor's voice broke her revere, and she jogged up behind him. A sudden thought pulled her to a dead stop. She swallowed, uncertain if she should ask…

"What is it?" His voice said, though a bit softer. She looked up at him in confusion. "Well, you obviously have a question. Go ahead."

"Well…um…" she stuttered.

"Spit it out we haven't got all day!" He snapped, annoyed though not mad.

"Well….what is your name?" She asked quickly, nervous again.

Her captor frowned. "I already told you, Black Cat." He stated it like it was obvious.

Saya shook her head. "No…not your Chronos name. Your…real name. Your birth name." She asked, a blush appearing on her nose and cheeks.

He frowned slightly, his eyes surprised. Then he closed his eyes and told her.

"Train Heartnet."

And he looked at her, a slight smile on his handsome face, the light complimenting his dark brown firework-esk hair. "Nice to meet you, Saya Minatsuki."

* * *

_ In the end I wanna be standing _

_ At the beginning with you._

* * *

** Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4: How You Remind Me

**Hiya! Thanks for reading this story so far! To all who reviewed: I _LOVE _YOU!! Thanks so much! **

**Warning: This chapter is unbeta-ed, because I figured that many people had waited long enough for this. Which, by the way, is the longest chapter so far!**

**By the way, This chapter was SO much fun to write! I loved intricating everyone's personalitites, but tried to keep them in character! Which reminds me: incywincyspider, you got your wish, which i found funny as i read your review, sonce I had this written a couple days ago. Hope you all enjoy chapter 4 of 31 Days!!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned _Black Cat,_ Saya would not have died, and her and Train would be living out in the country somewhere with 3 kids. But, they are obviously not, so i quite obviously do not own it. **

**31 Days: Chapter 4- How You Remind Me**

* * *

Never made is as a wise man

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

* * *

_In which the gang in introduced, Saya and Train do not get along, Train threatens people, and Saya sees something...interesting_

Car rides were so incredibly boring. Especially rides that seem to never end; they are so long. Especially rides in old, broken down old cars that were in desperate need of an update, yet never got one despite the fact that driver worked for an incredibly powerful organization.

Saya sighed, adjusting in her seat for what felt like the thousandth time that minute. She was trying to be patient, she really was…but she never was the most patient person. "Train, when are we going to get there?" she asked. From the driver's seat, Train sighed slightly.

"When we get there." He answered her, shortly. Saya sighed again, flopping down on the adjacent seats next to her, gazing imploringly up at Train.

"But…can't you go faster…?" She asked, whining a bit. Though she never liked to think of herself as one who whines a lot…she was so bored. At least on normal car-rides, she could move her hands. But not for this ride, _no_ she had to have them tied because, god forbid, she tried to grab the steering wheel and crash the car into a tree, because she just _so _wanted to die. "Feh…men." she muttered to herself.

"I can only go as fast as the speed limit allows. We're already wanted, so I do not need a cop trying to chase us too. We've already got enough of those on our tail." He replied, annoyance lacing his deep voice. Saya winced at his tone.

"Look, I never really had a say in my capture, so I can't agree with you there. You seem like a…interesting person, but I would rather not be sitting in a car with my hands tied behind my back." She snapped back, a bit more harshly than she had originally intended to.

"And I never wanted to capture a bratty little girl who doesn't know her place, and never listens to what her elders tell her to do, even if it is for her own good. Instead she has to go and run away, then get into trouble and beg for said elder's help." He growled, glowering at her through the rear-view mirror.

Saya blushed in shame, and lowered her gaze, "I...I'm sorry that I did not listen to you. But try to imagine it from my point of view: you just got captured, and have no idea where you are and your captor just killed someone with practiced ease! I was scared!" She exclaimed, begging him to understand her plight.

"I understand. That is why I did not get mad at you." He said to her, golden eyes considerably softer as he glanced at her in the mirror. Saya blushed again, but for an entirely differently reason. And she did not even know why.

"A-ah…ok," she said, her eyes looking at him through the mirror, and Train focused his gaze back onto the road. Both were quiet for a while, and Saya looked out the window, for once appreciating the view of the forest the car was allowing. Her eyes started to droop a bit, since she had not got a whole lot of sleep the past night. _Just…one minute… _She thought, her head sagging into her sternum, her eyes closing softly.

"We're here," Train's voice cut through the thick silence between the two, the uneasy truce of silence. Hearing no answer, his eyes flicked to the mirror. "Hey, you still alive back there?" What he saw made him smile slightly to himself.

Saya had slipped on her sleep, and was leaning as far to the right as the seatbelt would allow, her hands still behind her back, her head hanging slightly in sleep. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes brushing against her smooth cheeks. Her mouth hung open slightly, but she did not snore, just kept on sleeping silently. He never would have noticed she was asleep, had he not looked back.

Train pulled up into the paved parking lot, and downshifted the car into a stop, and killed the engine. He got out and walked over to Saya's door, pulling the piece of blue metal open. "C'mon. Time to wake up," he said. When Saya did not stir, he sighed, "Ok then, have it your way." And he leaned over, unhooked the seatbelt, grabbed her hands and hauled her out of the car. Saya finally woke at this rude treatment.

"Hey! Wha- where's the fire?!" she exclaimed, eyes blurry from sleep. When she got a look at the person who was holding her, her eyes finally came into focus, "Oh, hey Train. Might I ask what you're doing, pulling a lady so rudely?" She admonished.

"Hmmm…" Train looked around, "I don't see any ladies." He stated, looking at her, one eyebrow raised.

Saya fumed, "N-no ladies!? Excuse _Me!_"

Train nodded, and spun her around, completely ignoring the affronted look she was shooting at him. "You're excused. Now hold still, so I can cut these." And with that, the ropes fell off her wrists, from a simple flick of his knife. "C'mon." He said, turning and waking toward the large building.

Saya spun around, and jogged to catch up with his long strides. She paused when she got a look at the building. "Uh, Train…shouldn't we not go in here? I mean…you don't want to get caught…do you?" She questioned, looking up at him.

Train smirked, and looked down at her. "Yes, I do not want to be caught. But this place is special."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the only people who know of it are Chronos Numbers or sweepers that work for Chronos." He told her, swinging the door open and holding it for her.

"Oh…that would make sense." She muttered as she walked inside, immediately assaulted by the smell of old cigarettes and alcohol. She looked up at Train for guidance.

"Welcome," He said, "To the Amontillado." Saya nodded again, and walked behind Train, letting him lead the way…and was once again assaulted. But not but smells this time-oh no…but he did smell really nice- it was by a man.

"Hey there, Hon. What're you doing in a place like this?" He asked her, his teeth sparkling as he smiled charmingly at her. Or, at least, he meant it to be charming. Saya did not find it at all attractive.

She looked around for Train, her eyes pleading for help, but he had his back to her, talking to a taller- and older- man in a tan suit with…green hair…? It just kept getting weirder and weirder…

"Umm…no thanks." she mumbled, blushing a bit. The man was really handsome, with longish black hair, a black suit and a yellow striped tie.

He smiled a bit more gently at her, "So, why are you here? Your not…" he started, but following her gaze, he saw Train, "Ah. Sorry…I didn't mean to scare you." he said, a bit despondently, rubbing the back of his neck in shame.

"It's ok," Saya told him, smiling widely at him, "I was just attacked by two groups of men within a three hour period…so I'm a bit…" she trailed off, still smiling. The man smiled at her again, and Saya felt- for the first time- that she liked him. Not _like, like _but he was kind and seemed to be chivalrous- though a bit amorous for her taste.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. Come sit with me," He said, walking over to the bar and Saya followed him, "I'm Jenos. Jenos Hazard." He told her as he sat on one of the wooden bar stools, gesturing for Saya to do the same.

"I'm Saya Minatsuki. Nice to meet you." she said, holding out her hand, and shaking Jenos'.

"Now, how about a drink for the pretty lady, eh?" He asked. Saya shook her head.

"I'm not of legal drinking age."

"oh?" Jenos looked surprised, "I thought you were. You look to be around 20. If you don't mind my asking…how old _are _you?" he inquired.

"I'm 16." she answered. Jenos looked stunned.

"Black Cat…capturing a 16 year old…" Saya heard him mutter to himself, "What…must not be a Chronos mission…" he looked back up at her.

"Do you know why you are captured?"

"No. Apparently it's _'Customer Confidentiality'_." Saya mocked, quoting with her fingers, her voice dropping a couple of octaves. Whatever Jenos said in response was drowned out by a loud yell.

"JENOS HAZARD!" A woman yelled, sprinting up to the pair, and smacking him upside the head with her small red hand-bag, "YOU PERVERT! LEAVE POOR, DEFENSELESS WOMEN ALONE!"

Saya felt a bit affronted at this; she was hardly defenseless. She looked at the woman beating up poor Jenos, and realized this must be his girlfriend. They seemed to fit one-another.

After the woman finally knocked Jenos unconscious, she dragged him from his seat. "I apologize for anything this perv has done; buying drinks, getting drunk, promising at sleep with you, or any sort of sexual _harassment_." The woman snarled the last word, kicking Jenos as she did. Saya gulped and nodded her head.

"No, we just talked. He was quite kind, compared to my monotonic captor." she said, glancing briefly at Train, who was still in conversation with green-haired hat-man. The woman's mouth opened a bit in shock.

"Oh…so you're Heartnet's target…or captive, I should say…" she muttered. Saya briefly wondered why everyone was acting this way. "oh! I'm Rinslet Walker. But you can call me Rin!" She exclaimed, holding out her hand, and Saya shook it, looking the woman up and down.

Rinslet was a bit taller than her, and much more curvy. She had collar-bone length purple hair- again with the weird colors?! Was that a regulation around here? Weird hair?- and wore a tight, navel showing turquoise shirt with a black stripe down the front, with a matching mini-skirt, and black heels. Her eyes were a beautiful turquoise, just a few shades lighter than her outfit, and wore a red heart necklace the was hanging from a gold chain.

"It's nice to meet you." Saya said conversationally. Rin smiled at her, and- leaving Jenos, whom was still out cold- sat on the stool opposite Saya, grabbing Jenos' alcoholic drink and taking a long pull.

"Ah. That was refreshing. Now, I bet Jenos was an ass and didn't order you anything. What would you like?" Rin asked Saya, who got the feeling that she had just made a new friend.

"Um…I'm not of legal age…" she said, thinking that she should put a sign on her forehead stating that she was underage, just so people would stop asking. Not that it was annoying…but she got the feeling that she would be asked a lot more this night.

"Really?" Rin asked, looking perplexed.

"Yah, I'm only 16." Rin smiled at Saya, who was taken aback by this.

"Cool. I have an underage friend! Whoo!" She yelled, leaping up off the chair. Saya leaned back, her eyes growing wide.

"Uh…" she said, feeling a little horrified, "I think that Rin might be a light-weight…" And her suspicion was shown true when Rin bounded over, grabbed Jenos' drink, and downed it. "Uh…Rin…" Saya said, smiling a bit sympathetically, "Maybe that's enough alcohol…" But apparently not enough to quench Rin. She ordered another drink, some blue slushy-like drink. And downed it. Saya winced as she dropped the glass onto the counter and took her head in her hands.

"Wooaaahhh…that…hurts….heh…my head…hurts…" she said, a look of shock on her pretty face. Saya looked at the bartender for help, but only got a patronizing stare as she continued to methodically clean the glasses.

"Not much you can do, once she's started." The bartender said, and Saya looked at her nametag, reading the name Annotte silently to herself.

Saya heard a thump, and looked around in time to see Rin trip over a still out Jenos and fall to the floor. Who, once she hit the floor, started laughing insanely.

Annotte sighed, and walked over to the small swinging door, and walked out and over to Rin. "Stupid girl…" she muttered, picking up the still laughing Rin and carried her back inside the bar, and opened the door behind her, "I'm taking her up to my room. She'll be back down later, since she recovers quickly…for a light-weight. Stay by Train, some men in here are rough sweepers who have no manners." And she turned around, closing the door behind her.

Saya nodded, and hopped off the barstool, stepping around Jenos- who looked like he might be waking up- and walked into the dining hall in search of Train. She did not have to look far.

Train was at the pool table, playing with the hat-guy. By the looks of it, Train was winning.

"Aw man, how come you're always so good at this, yet your catch phrase is that you bring bad luck?" The man whined, leaning against his pole like he had just run a marathon.

"Well, my luck rubs off on other people. I carry it, but it does not affect me." Train said with a grin, smacking one of the balls into a hole. As he leaned over, Saya got a good look down his shirt, which caused her to blush and look down, faltering in her step.

She gulped and closed her eyes for a moment, "Ok Saya, this guy is your captor. He may be hot, but he is a killer. C'mon now, get real." she muttered to herself, smacking her face lightly. And was consequently ran into by someone.

"Hey watch it!" A guy yelled as Saya slammed her eyes open, and looked at the man. He was tall, with white hair styled into a Mohawk and wore loose, baggy clothing.

"You watch it! You ran into me!" Saya exclaimed, her dignity getting the better of her.

The man snarled, "You stupid girl! Learn respect for your elders!"

Saya snorted patronizingly. "Please. That's all you are, my _elder_."

The man lose it. "Why you-" He snarled, raising a fist to punch her. Saya stood, narrowing her eyes and raising her arms in defense. But his arm never did move.

"Must you always get into fights?" Train's baritone asked as he twisted the man's arm over his shoulder. Saya blinked, and frowned at him.

"I don't need your help!" she snapped.

"Oh, really?" Train asked, roughly tugging on the man's arm, and the man cried out with pain in response. Train snarled harshly into the man's pierced ear, "You better leave the lady alone. Apologize, and be on your way."

"No!" The man snapped back, a last ditch attempt in bravery. Train pulled out his Hades and jammed it against the man's ear.

"Apologize to her." He snarled, his arms twisting slightly as the man tried to get free. Train cocked his gun in response.

Saya watched this I horrified fixation, her hands covering her mouth. Train's friend had not moved to help either man. She looked back at the stalemate two, and saw the Mohawk man was sweating in fear; Train's eyes glowed angrily. Just a minute ago, he had been happy- playing pool- but now he was the killer XIII again.

"T-Train…it's ok…really…he just bumped me…" She said, reaching out and touching Train's tense arm, expecting him to strike at her. But he did just the opposite: he relaxed slightly.

"Apologize to her." He growled again- but with less ferocity, and the man nodded hastily.

"I-I'm so sorry, miss. It-It won't happen again…" The man stuttered, and Train released him. The man ran quickly for the exit, as if he was afraid Train would take back the offer to let him leave.

Saya sighed in relief. "You did not have to do that…I was fine." she said, her voice loosing volume as she talked.

Train looked down at her, "Oh really? It certainly looked like you needed help."

"I did not," Saya stated, her hands on her yukata covered hips, "I was just acting defenseless."

"I never said you were defenseless, just in need of help." Train said patronizingly. Saya sighed in frustration.

"Oh, so now you're twisting my words around!"

"No, It's what you said."

"No, I said I was _acting _defenseless!"

"Nope, your posture had no guard, practically screaming: 'Someone, help me!'"

"No. It. Was. Not!"

"Yes. It. Was."

The two were toe-to-toe now, glaring into each other's eyes with enough anger to light a fire. At least, Saya's eyes were. Train looked mildly annoyed, which seemed to be a shock for all who had stopped to watch the argument.

Train smirked at Saya, who was trying to look intimidating, but it was really hard to do if the person is taller than you. And an assassin.

"I really was fine." Saya muttered, crossing her arms.

Train smirked, "That means I win."

"No," Saya countered, "It just means that I'm more mature than you." Train- who looked flabbergasted at her stealing his thunder- opened his mouth to say a witty retort, but was cut off.

"Yes. Girls are approximately six years older, than men, in mental state." A girl stated, who looked a bit too young to know these things. Saya blinked, taking I the pretty girl. She had _long_ blond hair- that reached her knees- that she wore down except for the black ribbon that held part of her hair in a half-ponytail; pretty, round amber eyes; clear skin and looked at be about 10. But her clothing was reminiscent of Rinslet, with a short, black, lacey turtle-necked dress with long sleeves, and had mid-thigh length black stockings.

"Wha…" Saya remarked, showing her intelligence. At least, up against this girl, who was obviously a child prodigy.

The young girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Eve." She said in an oddly monotone voice. Saya shook her small hand, surprised at the grip it held.

"I'm Saya Minatsuki. I'm 16, so I'm _not _of legal drinking age, thank you." she told the girl, who looked a little weirded out. Saya laughed slightly, rubbing her neck, "Sorry, reflexive action. I've been asked twice so far if I want a drink, so…"

Eve nodded, understanding, "Yes. I have yet to be asked that question myself, though, since I appear to be 10 or 11."

Saya smiled at the younger girl.

"Eve!" Saya heard a cry from behind her and turned to see the hat-man walking up to the three. Now he was closer Saya could see a black patch covering his right eye, and he wore a tan suit and matching hat. But the green hair…everyone here had something unusual about them…suddenly, Saya felt very plain.

"Hi!" The man said as he reached them, grinning widely as he swung a black briefcase in his left hand, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, "Nice to meet you. I'm Sven Volfied." The man said, holding out his hand, which Saya shook, feeling déjà vu.

"Saya Minatsuki." She said with a bright smile. Train seemed to finally wake from his shocked stupor.

"We should get going." he said, and gestured for Saya to follow. She, on the other hand, ha dno intention of going anywhere.

"No." she stated, folding her arms and frowning at Train, who turned to look back at her, a mildly surprised look crossing his face.

"Excuse me?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You're excused. But I'm not leaving." She said, turning her head to the side.

"Yes, you are." Train said, stepping back toward her.

"No." Saya replied, wishing she knew of a good retort. Wasn't this pretty much the same argument they had not that long ago?

Train sighed, and- quicker than her eye could see- darted forward and grabbed her upper arm. "Let's go." He told her shortly, almost dragging her to the exit.

Saya, try as she might, could not escape from his vice-like grasp. She really wanted to be mature about this but….

She planted her feet on the floor, and slid onto her butt. Train, who was not willing to drag her across the ground- yet -looked down at her, amusement clear on his face.

"What…are you doing?" he asked, smirking a little. Saya grumbled a bit from her position on the floor.

"I'm not going. I actually met some nice people, and I would prefer to stay with them." She told him flatly, trying to leave no room for argument.

"Oh, really? Well, to bad. We have to get going." Train said, and with a surprisingly strong tug, pulled her to her feet. But only for a moment, since the velocity caused her to go up…and to fall back down, onto her face.

Train snorted, trying to keep from laughing. Saya sighed from the ground, and twisted her head to glare at him.

"See? I'm not going."

"Don't think that I'm not afraid to drag you across the ground." Train told her warningly.

Sven and Eve, who had been watching this exchange with amazement, chuckled to themselves at Train's comment. Yes, Train might try to drag Saya, but he would not find an easy time of it, that was for sure.

"Sven…do you think…?" Eve asked him, looking at him imploringly, her eyes telling him the rest of her unfinished sentence. Sven grinned, and nodded.

"You do need female company…and Rinslet isn't the best role model. This girl, one who is not afraid of the Black Cat, might be good." Sven said thoughtfully, "It's amazing, what that girl can do. I've never seen Train so…"

"Alive?" Eve offered.

"Yes. I've never seen him with an actual emotion. Do you think she is…?" Sven asked, looking down at his partner and daughter-figure.

"I don't think so, Sven." Eve said, and Sven sighed in sadness, "I know so." She finished, and Sven looked up again, hope in his green eye.

"Well then, I'll go and talk to them." he said, and turned to walk up the pair, only to stop short, biting back a laugh.

Saya planted her feet and butt, growling lightly as she was dragged across the wooden floor. Or, at least, attempted to be dragged.

Train sighed, pausing to catch his breath. He was fit, but this girl…she was so stubborn. How was it that she was not listening to him? Was she not afraid? He looked back at her, golden eyes alight with curiosity. "Why don't you make this easier on the both of us, and get up, hm?" he offered.

Saya frowned at him, speaking through her gritted teeth, "No. I _won't_," She dead-panned, tugging against Train's hand that still gripped her arm, " Would you mind letting go of me? I'm loosing blood to my arm."

Train looked at her flatly. "Um, let me think about this…no. Not until you come with me," Seeing her glare he continued, "Your arm can just have less blood than the rest of your body."

Saya bared her teeth in a wolf-like snarl. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Sven's rough voice.

"Hey…do you guys need a hotel room for the night?" Sven asked, looking humorously at the bickering pair.

Train frowned at him. "No…we'll _manage_." he ground out, tugging harshly on Saya's arm.

"No. I want to stay with them. What harm can it do?" She asked, pleading Train with her eyes.

Train swallowed when he got a look at her green eyes, open wide and glittery in the glow from the sun and artificial light inside. He sighed, lowering his gaze, feeling his anger waning. "Ok. We can stay with them." He told her, and she gave him her 1000-watt smile.

"Thank you, Train!" She exclaimed, leaping to her feet and skipping over to Eve.

Train dislodged his hand from her arm, briefly wondering how she was feeling no pain at the moment. He wrung out the cramping appendage, and looked at Sven, giving him a light glare, "Now look what you did. You had to go and be a gentleman." Train admonished him lightly, joking a bit.

Sven grinned, "Well, when you live by the code of chivalry, you have to help every lady in distress. Including the infamous assassin Black Cat's captive, if it is a woman."

Train shook his head, "You and your chivalry are rubbing off on me. I never used to be this soft." He said, not looking the least bit sad about the change.

"Well, that's what you get," Sven said, "For hanging out with a sweeper like me."

Train sighed, and nodded. "ok," he said, turning back to the exuberant Saya, "We should be going now." he said, and Saya skipped along behind him.

"What are you doing?" Eve asked her curiously.

"Skipping!" Saya exclaimed, dancing along.

"What…is skipping?" Eve questioned. Saya almost fell over in shock.

"You- you don't know what _skipping _is?" She asked, appalled. Eve nodded. Saya twirled around to face a surprised looking Sven, "How could you not teach her what skipping is?!" she admonished, somehow skipping backwards, even as she spoke.

"Uh…" was Sven's smart retort.

"Can…you teach me, Saya?" Eve asked. Saya whirled around to look at the girl.

"Of course!" She exclaimed with a grin, "Since this big oaf obviously hasn't taught you anything useful!" And Saya proceeded to show Eve the fine art of skipping, as the foursome walked up to the sweeper hotel, and their large room.

By the time they had reached the green hotel door, Eve had understood how to skip, and was doing it quite well.

"Yay!" Eve exclaimed happily as she skipped into the room with Saya close behind, right past an astonished looking Sven and Train.

"Ok…" Train said, shaking his head, and trying to hide his smile, "I have a feeling that my sanity isn't going to last this trip."

Sven nodded. "Mine as well."

Saya looked up at the two, still skipping around the room. "Loose you sanity? Why, you've already lost it!" she exclaimed, hiding her grin with her hand. Somehow, she managed not to trip, even in her yukata.

Train raised his eyebrows at the girl. "Well, why not. Let's humor you. Just remember, yours isn't in safe hands, either." He quipped, "Anyway, I need to take a shower." he said, walking in and over to the bathroom. "Shout if you're being jumped again."

Saya frowned, the memory still fresh in her mind.

"Hey, Eve, could you stay with Saya? I've got something important to do." Sven asked the girl. She nodded, finally halting her newfound talent.

"Yes, I will stay. But what important thing?" She asked, "Run out of cigarettes?"

Sven blanched, "Uh…well…you see…" he said, looking sheepish.

Eve sighed, "I get it. Go ahead." Sven smiled at her and jogged away, closing the door with a light slam. "I'll go into the kitchen, to find something for you to eat. You must be hungry."

Saya opened her mouth, but her stomach replied for her. "Uh…I haven't eaten in a while…since…" She trailed off, thinking, "Tuesday." And it was Friday now. No winder she was hungry.

Eve had long since left to the kitched, leaving Saya to her thoughts.

"I need to run to the deli at the corner," Eve's soft voice said, and Saya woke from her daydream, "We're almost out of milk. Will you be ok on your own?"

Saya nodded from her seat on the couch. "Yeah. Heh, that sounds weird coming from a 10 year old."

Eve nodded, ignoring her jibe, and walked out the door. Saya leaned back against the cushion, closing her eyes for a moment. The sound of a door opening caused her eyes to fly open, and get a good look at Train. Train, who only had a towel around his waist.

**Rin and Jenos were SO much bloody fun to write. I may have to do a one-shot on them. Anywho, you know the drill. If you've read this far, please review! **

**Again, thanks to those who reviewed and supported me! Hands out Train plushies**


	5. Chapter 5: Ordinary Day

**Oh dear, I've finally updated. First I want to apolize about the legnth of this chapter. Noting really important happens in this except Saya's...well, you'll have to read to find out! **

**Second, I want to apoligize about taking so long to update. I've been writing a novel, which I am about half-way through, and my muse's been focused on that. Writing this chapter was kind of spur of the moment thing...which explains the legnth. It was rushed, but I had to get it out before i forgot it. I my go back and add more, but It's not that likely. **

**THANK YOU to everyone who read and reviewed this story! Do not worry, I will update R&J:BCS soon enough...I'm about halfway though the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: **

**Roses are red,**

**Violets are blue,**

**I do not own Black Cat (nor 'Ordinary Day' for that matter)**

**So please don't sue! **

**So, without furthur adu...**

* * *

**31 Days- Chapter 5**

**Ordinary Day**

* * *

Just a day,  
Just an ordinary day.  
Just trying to get by.  
Just a boy,  
Just an ordinary boy.  
But he was looking to the sky.  
And as he asked if I would come along  
I started to realize  
That everyday he finds  
Just what he's looking for,  
Like a shooting star he shines.

* * *

The threadbare trees flew by as the old, over-trodden car whipped by them at a blaring speed of fifty miles per hour. The cold air of the mountains did not seem to be affecting it's engine- yet- and thankfully there was no need for air conditioning, since the old model was not well endowed. But, however, heat would be nice. Yet, like the air conditioning, it did not work. Probably from over-use in it's younger years. To this, Saya would have commented:

"What? This car was young?"

The group of five- Rin, Sven, Eve, Train and Saya- sat in the car, all freezing their rears off, but did not really have a whole lot of options for heat, other than sharing body heat…which did not seem like a promising option.

"Why is it so bloody cold?!" Rin exclaimed, her perfect teeth chattering as she rubbed her arms up and down, trying to warm herself.

Saya- who was in a similar predicament and position- responded despondently. "Because we are in the mountains, which means higher altitude." At Rin's confused look, she continued, "The air is colder as we get higher thanks to higher air presser. Plus, we are closer to the clouds, which means more moisture."

"Speaking of moisture," Sven interjected, his cigarette- which was not lighted, yet he somehow felt compelled to have it in his mouth- "It looks like these mountains got snow recently. Look." he said, pointing out the window of the passenger seat. Saya and Eve looked over Rin to see that Sven was correct, there was in fact snow on the ground.

"Oh! How pretty! I've never seen it before!" Eve exclaimed, her amber orbs wide with wonder. Saya looked incredulously at Eve, her own eyes growing wide.

"What? You've never seen _snow_?!" she choked out. She rounded on Sven, who was holding his hat to his head and sinking down in the seat. "What kind of father figure are you? Not letting her see snow…" Saya muttered, looking away from an admonished Sven. "Train! Pull over!" she exclaimed to the driver of the car, who- till now- had been quite happy not being included in the conversation.

Train sighed slightly, and his eyes flicked back to meet hers through the mirror. Saya suddenly felt her face burn red, and slammed her gaze down into her lap, carefully not looking back up again.

"Please Train?" Eve asked quietly, apparently not as afraid to look at Train as Saya was. Sven and Rin soon joined in on the pleading, though it looked like it may not have taken much pleading in the first place. Saya sat still, refusing to look up at the assassin, despite his sigh of acquiescence.

"Ok. Let my find a shoulder to pull over on." he muttered, his face passive even as he glanced at Eve's jovial expression, Rin's excitement, Sven's happiness and Saya's…embarrassment? For a moment, he felt confused as he focused his attention back onto the road. Why would she…oh. He remembered. And his lightly tanned face glowed a bit, though not noticeable. Spying a good spot to pull over, he downshifted and steered the car onto a shoulder next to a snow-covered mountain. Just as Eve almost sprang over Rin in her excitement to get out into the white powder, Saya grabbed the back of her jacket.

"Wait a 'sec," she said, waking from her stupor, "How are you supposed to keep warm? Snow is pretty much frozen water. All you have on is…" Saya briefly studied the girl's outfit, "A light jacket, jeans, and a shirt. You'll freeze." Though she felt horrid for saying those things to Eve's once-hopeful face, which now looked downtrodden. But she had to be practical, and none of them wanted Eve in the hospital. As much as she wanted to go home, she loved her new friends and wanted them safe.

"Umm…I hate to interrupt…" Sven said, "But I have winter clothes in my bag…" All the- female- occupants of the car immediately rounded on him.

"_WHAT?"_ Saya hissed, "You've been just letting us _freeze _this whole time…yet you've had winter clothing in your bag…"

"Mind telling us why you _didn't_ tell us, _chivalrous _man?" Rin snarled, glaring daggers at the cowering man, who looked as if he would rather not tell her anything, but was afraid to counter her fury.

"Uh…I forgot?" he asked, grinning slightly. Rin ground her teeth at him, and Eve just sighed.

"Would you mind getting those clothes for us, since you seemed to have forgotten, we deserve to be warm." A cough from Train edited her statement, "And Train, too, since he had nothing to do with this. Now, go get it!" Rin exclaimed, jamming her finger into the back of Sven's head, and he unwillingly got out of the dilapidated car, Train closely following. The girls sat in the car for a moment, then the driver's door flung open and the bag came flying in, the door slamming behind in. Saya had to wrench her body to the side in order to avoid being decapitated. Rin immediately began to dig through the bag for something even close to her taste in clothing.

The three girls clambered out of the car, finally changed into snow clothes. Saya- who held the duffel in her hand- threw the bag at Sven with a grin.

"Here ya go!" she chirped, "You can change now!"

"Nice to know I need permission…" Sven mumbled, quickly zipping open the bag and pulling out his favorite, nice woolen jacket…only top have Train steal it from him. "Hey!" he exclaimed indignantly.

"I've been the unbiased one in this whole argument. But now I want to keep warm. It's cold." Train told him sharply.

"But you already have a coat…" Sven muttered dejectedly, to which Train gave him a deadpan look.

"Yes, but this thing provides almost no warmth." Train stated, shrugging on the jacket, leaving Sven to pull out the old, off-green one that smelled like mold.

"Ewww…" he muttered, but- seeing Eve and Saya waiting in anticipation, he pulled on the old coat, and jogged over to the three girls…only to be slammed in the head with a well-aimed snowball from Eve.

Saya doubled over, laughing hysterically to herself from her hiding spot behind a tree. It was just to funny, watching Sven almost throw a snowball at Eve, then pause and look at her, lowering his arm, only to have Eve shove snow in his face. Which caused Eve to start running away quickly, Sven chasing her. Train and Rin stood off to the side, Rin was laughing as hard as Saya, and Train had a grin on his face.

Saya saw Eve running her way, still being chased by Sven, who had a really funny look on his face; like he was contemplating throwing snow right back at Eve, or letting her get away with it. She shook her head slightly, and leaned back against the tree, her eyes dancing in happiness.

"What are you doing?" Train asked, his voice as cold as the snow. She looked up at him with a grin.

"Attempting to keep warm and not be found. It's not that easy, ya' know?" Train snorted slightly, looking away.

"We need to keep moving." He stated. Saya rolled her eyes.

"Well, no duh, genius. Moving keeps the blood flowing, which keeps you warm. Which is what I'm doing right now. Moving, I mean." she said, inwardly slapping herself for running her mouth off. She fought down both a blush and _that _imagery.

"Keep moving as in going to HQ." he snapped, glaring at her. Saya just blinked.

"But can't we just stay for a little while longer? It's fun!" she exclaimed, falling back into the snow, only to slam her head into the tree that she had forgotten was behind her. "Oww…" she giggled, rubbing the back of her head. Train frowned.

"Fun?" he inquired dryly. Saya looked up at him, eyes wide and face full of disbelief .

"You mean to say: You've never had fun?" she asked, shocked. Train snorted, shoving his hands into the pockets of the jacket.

"I'm an assassin. 'Fun' isn't exactly on the regimen." Saya's face softened as she lowered her hand.

"Really? Well then…I'll show you what fun is!" she exclaimed, slapping her hands together. Train just looked down at her, face blank. "C'mon!" she jumped to her feet, dragging a reluctant Train behind her.

"Now, roll the snow into a ball that's smaller than the one we just made, then stack it on top." she ordered happily, shaping the snow. Train sat there, crouched in the snow, an annoyed look on his face as he watched her.

"This is not fun. It's cold." he snapped.

"Ooh look! It's snowing!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet and running off, abandoning her attempt at a snowman. Train glared at the deformed thing, sweat dropping slightly.

"Was she even listening?" he growled, looking over to the girl. She was dancing around in the snow, doing some sort of clumsy swing dance with Eve, who looked a little nervous.

"Come on!" she exclaimed, "Step back when I step forward, 'k?" Eve nodded, her long hair swinging around her as she moved. Saya threw her head back and laughed, her cheeks red with exuberance.

"Like this?" Eve inquired softly, blushing softly as she stepped on Saya's foot.

"Yeah, you're getting it!" she exclaimed. The two soon smoothed out their performance, and even Rin had joined in, dancing with Sven.

"If only Jenos was here…" Saya heard her mutter, and Sven gave her a look. "What? He's a better dancer than you." she told him frankly. Saya choked back a laugh.

Sven grumbled and pulled away. Saya saw him watching them, and stepped away from Eve. "Here, you can dance with her." she told him, walking past him, a smile on her face.

"Oh, thanks." Sven started, jogging up to the girl. Saya strode over to where Train sat, pausing at his appearance. His eyes were unfocused, as if in deep thought, and snow littered his head, sticking to his hair and falling over his shoulders.

"Hey!" she said. Train's head jerked up and his hand flew to the holster at his thigh. Saya jerked to halt, eyes wide. Train shook his head and looked at her, lowering his hand.

"You should know better than to startle an assassin." he snapped, rubbing his forehead.

"I didn't know an assassin could startle." she retorted, placing her hands on her jean-clad hips. Train glared at her. "Well excuse me if I haven't made it a point to get to know any assassins. I'll try harder."

Train just shook his head slightly. "We need to keep going. Get Sven, Eve and Rin. I'll be in the car." he told her shortly, striding off.

Saya stood for a moment, then spun on her heel after him, quickly catching up. "Hey!" she exclaimed, matching him for stride. He ignored her. "Hey!" she tried again. Still ignored. Finally, annoyed, she jumped directly in front of him, forcing him to stop. He gave her a frosty glare.

"What?"

"Why are you being so mean?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You stupid girl, I'm an assass-"

"Yes, I realize that you are an assassin. But…before…when you rescued me from those thugs…you seemed almost…" she trailed off, looking down.

"Kind? Nice?" he snorted harshly, brushing by her, "I'm not those things, girl. Get used to it." Saya stood, calf deep in the snow, staring straight ahead as Train walked back to the car.

"Why…?" she whispered, looking up to the falling snow. "Why can't he be those things? Who says so? His…boss? The world? Himself?" She leveled her gaze again to the three, who danced on in the snow, oblivious. Suddenly, her eyes widened, a memory crossing her mind.

"_**And she shall be captive of a young man One with eyes of fire The two shall fight and she shall be fear But she should not, for he will not hurt her His reasons unclear even to himself**__" _

"Eyes of fire…" she whispered, spinning around to face the car, who's shape had gotten blurred by the falling snow. She gasped in air, eyes wide. Another memory hit her…

_Train stood at the entrance of the alleyway, his gun leveled with her attacker's head, his eyes radiating anger and fire. "Let her go." _

"Train…? Is he who…?" she whispered. "No. Why would anyone fall for that jerk?!" she snapped, crossing her arms, a deep frown on her face. "Mom, why did you do this to me? Well, I'm going to prove you wrong! I will not fall in love with _him_." she spat.

Saya stood there for a moment, her mind lost in thought. "But…he was kind…" she whispered to herself. She looked up, leveling her gaze with the car again. "You're not as bad as you say you are, Train Heartnet." Then she spun around, walking over to the trio who, by this time, had stopped dancing. "Come on! Grumpy's waiting!" she exclaimed, jogging over. They all looked over to her, then nodded.

"Okay." Eve said, turning to face Sven, "Race you to the car." and she took off with Sven on her tail. Rin laughed at them, walking next to the younger girl.

Saya and Rin reached the car last, and the former stood aside to let Rin in first.

"What took you two so long?" Saya heard Sven complain, then emit a sound of pain. She chuckled, lifting her foot to get in. Then she paused, looking behind her.

"What is it?" Eve asked, blinking her crimson eyes.

"I…I thought I heard something…" she whispered, searching.

"Come on." Train snapped. Saya nodded, getting in. As the car drove off, Saya did one last look to the hillside, staring out the window.

'_Mom…?_' she thought, '_Was that you…? Were you…laughing…?_'

Unbeknownst to the foursome, a figure stood on the hillside, a smile on her face. "My dear Saya," she whispered, "It is no use fighting fate." Then her figure faded, a gentle smile still in place.


	6. Chapter 6 Read AN, Please!

**Yes, I realize that I should die a slow and painful death for making people wit like this. Thank you for those who have wiated oh-so-paitently for this chapter...and this isn't even the completed chapter! **

**I'm posting this so people know that, yes, I am still alive and breathing. I've just been incredibly busy and haven't had much time to write. However, i have a week-long break coming up, so I'll finish this then! I swear! (I work best with deadlines...heh...)**

**This is only 1/3 of the chapter (The other 2/3 having yet to be written) but I'll get to it ASAP. Per my usual, this is unbeta-ed (So errors abound!) and if anyone wants to beta for me, please, please,please! Just send me a PM! I'll be more than happy! I need someone nagging me! **

**I will erase this when the finishes Ch. 6 is posted...**

**Thank you!**

**-Spel**

* * *

_"Antipathy, dissimilarity of views, hate, contempt, can accompany true love."_

_-J August Strindberg_

_X.X.X.X.X_

** 31 Days- Ch. 6 **

** (Yet to be named...)**

It was difficult for Saya to understand, the complexity of this game. Truly, it was mind-boggling. Why on earth would someone do this…?

"Checkmate." Eve said, her expression of a professional poker face.

"Aw mannn…" Sven groaned, slapping his head. "Why am I so bad at this, yet you're so good? I'm the one who taught you…"

"No, you told me how to move chess pieces around," Eve corrected sharply, placing the pieces in their respective holders on the foldable box. "It was Train who taught me the fundamentals of the game."

Saya just wondered as to how a ten year old knew the word 'fundamentals' when she herself barely understood it. But that could just be because it was two in the morning.

Her emerald eyes glazed over as she stared out the window of the car, not really seeing anything. Rather, she out her- somewhat fading with exhaustion- hearing to good use and listened to Eve and Sven play chess. Or, rather, Eve completely annihilate Sven at chess. It really was quite amusing. Or should have been, had she been more awake. _Maybe in the morning…_ she thought absently, resting her forehead against the cool glass. It was to hot in the cramped car; Sven and Eve occupying the backseats next to her, squishing her up against the door, whereas Train drove in his nice, uncramped, driver's seat, and Rin sat next to him, fileing her nails. Saya inwardly groaned, pulling at the fabric of her jeans. _Stupid things…_ she thought. _How in the name of all that's holy can they be up playing chess so late? Chess is boring in itself, and it's really late. Not the best combination. _

It had been a couple of days since the romp in the snow, and Saya still wondered idly about Train's sudden change of attitude. _I mean, he was actually being kind of…nice just days ago! Now he's…he's…_ she snuck a glance at the man in question.

Train kept is eyes glued to the road, the ocher orbs flickering this way and that, which, as Saya vaguely remembered from driver's aide classes, was a good thing. _But how can he stay awake so late!? I mean it's, _she glanced at the clock before remembering that it no longer worked, _very, very late_. She sighed before reaching up and rubbing her eyes with a yawn. _That's it! I am going to stay up! _

She sat up straighter in her seat, fisted her hands and scrunched her face in concentration. Sven looked at her nervously.

"Uh…are you having an epileptic fit?" he asked, leaning away.

"No, I'm just trying to stay up!" Saya told him stubbornly. Sven sweat-dropped.

"Uh…okay." he muttered, turning back to his chess-board. Saya glared straight ahead, her face set. Rin glanced at her over the seat, raising an eyebrow. She clucked her tongue, then sat back down, resting her head against the back of the seat.

Saya sighed, feeling her shoulders sag a bit. Her eyes drooped and her head lolled to the side. With a sudden movement, she jerked back up, slapping herself. Everyone in the car decided that now would be a good time to ignore her and went about their own business, not really wanting to bother the strange girl.

_I must stay awake! Must…stay…awake…_ her head once again lolled sideways and her eyes dropped shut as she drifted off to the land of dreams, her head resting against the cool glass of the window.

She did not dream about her mother or about strange prophecies. This time, she dreamed about flying.

_The sky was a clear blue, complimenting the snowy white of the clouds that hung about it. Her blue-green eyes were glazed with exaltation with the joy of being free of her fears and doubts; the feelings of happiness and an odd blankness were all that coursed through her. _

_Saya laughed loudly as she looked down. "Oh look! There's Train! He's trying to fix the car! Ha ha!" Her eyes were alight as she stared below her. "And there's Eve! She's trying to teach Sven to skip with her! And Rin's beating up Jenos again!" _

_Her back suddenly thrummed oddly, and she looked behind her. Saya's eyes widened with wonder when she saw them. "Wings…" she whispered. Sprouting from the back of her shirt were a pair of giant white, feathery wings, flapping slightly through the wind. "Wow…" _

"Wake up!" a light voice shouted, and Saya awoke, being roughly shook.

"D-wah?" she asked, dizzy.

"Oh…you're up." the voice said again, sounding slightly sheepish. "Anyway, we're getting out here."

"Uh…okay…" Saya muttered, rubbing her head and looking around her. The car was parked the middle of a strange forest, light rain drizzling through the branches. "Um, wouldn't it be a bad idea to leave the car here?"

"A recovering team with come and…well, _retrieve _it." Sven told her. Saya nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding out of the car without much difficulty.

"Uh, great. Why does it have to rain?" Rin sulked, wrapping her arms around her torso.

"I like the rain. It's comforting." Eve mentioned quietly as they stood by the side of the car, waiting for Train.

The man stepped out, his eyes oddly hard and posture stiff. He jerked his head at them, in what was obviously a signal to get moving. Saya moved to open the trunk, in order to get the bags out of the back.

"Eh, don't bother." Sven told her quietly, eyeing the black figure as it strode off through the woods.

"But…" Saya inquired, looking confused.

"You won't be needing them." Sven voiced, looking slightly grim. Saya blinked, a bit confused, but acquiesced.

"O…kay…" she muttered, following the group as they jogged to catch up with Train.

Saya hung back, a bit un-nerved by everyone's behavior. They all looked so…grim. So sad.

'_Why?_' she wondered, '_Why do they look so unhappy? What's going on?_' She voiced her question, but no one answered, not even looking at her. Saya sighed, placing her hands on her jean-clad hips. The rain soaked through her shirt, causing it to cling to her slight frame. "What. Is. Going. On?" she asked again. There was no answer, everyone just kept moving.

Growling in frustration, she sprinted past the majority of the group and up to Train's side. The cloaked man did not spare her so much as a glance.

"Train, what's going on?" she asked again, getting a bit annoyed. He gave her no mind. "Train?" Nothing. "Train?" Still nothing. She poked him in the side, trying to initiate…well, anything at this point. But the man ignored her like she was not even there, trudging through the forest at his swift walk.

Saya snarled at him, and leapt in his way. He just stepped around her. Annoyed beyond all belief, Saya swung her hand at his face. "Hey! What's your pro- ah!" she cut off, yelping, when his hand sprang up, abruptly knocking her own aside. Saya stood there, frozen, as he passed her. '_Why is he ignoring me?_'

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

He had to ignore her. It was not that he wanted to, but more that he had to. He had no choice. It would not be fair to her if…he acted all nice when he had to do…_that_ soon. It would hurt her.

He paused briefly, furrowing his brow. That sounded dangerously like he cared. Sure. She was interesting, to say the least. But that was it. She was- no, _is _a target, one he had to turn in. He had to distance himself from her. It was….the right thing to do. His good deed for…his life? More than likely.

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

Saya stared at the ground, hurt. '_I…I thought we were…friends…I was wrong…I guess…_'

"Hey, come on," Rin said, stopping next to the girl. "You'll be left behind. Not that Mr. Cold over there would let that happen…but…" she gave the sad-looking girl a smile.

Saya looked up at the older woman, her wet hair sticking to her face. Her eyes were lost and a bit scared. "What…" she choked out, "what…is going to happen to me?"

Rin gasped, her eyes wide. She bit her lip, looking worried. "Uh…It's not my place to tell you." she whispered. "Now, let's catch up." she tugged in Saya's arm. "C'mon."

The younger girl looked at her, somewhat sadly. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, looking down. Rin stared at her nervously, hoping that Saya wasn't crying. She would cave if that happened.

But the younger girl just looked back up at her, a bright smile in her face and her eyes brave. "Alright." she stated, her voice much more brave than she was feeling. Rin smiled down at her, and jogged to catch up to the group, Saya on her tail.

The group had been walking for over half an hour, by Saya's estimates, and it was getting dark. And cold. Well, colder than it had been before, anyway. Which was pretty chilly, also in her opinion.

"It's getting dark." she muttered, chafing her arms. "Are we going to get there soon?" she directed the question to their stoic leader, but didn't really expect an answer.

"I'm not sure." Sven answered, his clothing as soaked as their's. Saya sighed.

"Well, that was helpful." Eve muttered darkly, looking annoyed and quite cold.

"We'll stop and rest here." Train suddenly said, his deep voice carrying through them. They all blinked in surprised. Saya eyed him, looking nervous.

"Are yoyu feeling okay? I mean, you _spoke_." she told him, tone reverent. Train, for his part, ignored her, seating himself on a distant stump, away from the group.

Saya sighed sadly, sitting on a fallen thee.

"Uh…Saya?" Eve inquired. The girl in question looked up, her face curious.

"Yes?"

"I don't think that is a safe spot." she warned just as an earsplitting crack split the air. Saya jumped slightly, and looked up. Her eyes shot wide.

Falling down, from the very top of the tree above her, a branch careened down. Frozen, she forgot how to move. She watched the branch as it fell and braced herself for the impact…but it never same. Well, not the impact she expected anyway.

Her eyes opened and she stared up into inky blackness. Confused, she looked around and realized that, no, she was not unconscious, but laying on the ground some ten feet from the log and fallen branch, Train above her, his arms caging her.

She blinked, her mind registering. Train. Above her. A huge blush spread across her cheeks.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_Looking back on it, I really should have known at the time. Maybe then it would not have hurt so much…but back then I was so trusting so naïve. I learned that the hard way…_

__________________________________________________________________________

"U-uh? Train?" she stuttered, eyes huge. The man above her just gave a 'hn' and quickly stepped off her, seemingly careful not to touch her. Saya puckered her lips in irritation, turning her head to the side. '_Am I that disgusting?_' she wondered.

"Let's go. We're late." Train said, his back to her.

"Yes, master." Saya grumbled in imitation of Igor, and got to her feet, brushing herself off. "Great, now I'm all wet. Not that I wasn't before…but…"

"Get going." Train growled. Saya stuck her tongue out at him.

"And if I don't?" she challenged. Train gave her an icy look over his shouler…which had about nil effect on her.

"I will hog-tie you, throw you over my shoulder, and carry you there. Or, I will hog-tie you, skip the carrying, and just drag you to headquarters." Train told her, voice as cold as the rain. Saya sniffed, giving him her best glare.

"I'm not afraid of you." she snapped. Suddenly, Train's form blurred and disappeared. She blinked, taking a step back. She froze when something cold pressed against the back of her skull.

"Don't think I won't." he whispered. Saya shivered, cowed.

"Alright. I'll go." she told him softly, stepping away.

"Good. And I expect this kind of behavior from you from now on. Alright?" he asked, even though it sounded more like an order than a question.

"Yes." she whispered, feeling scared of the assassin suddenly. It started her, this realization. He had allowed her to joke with him before, almost be her friend. And now…well, maybe it was just because they were closer to the headquarters than before. Image to keep up and all that. That was how guys were…or so Saya was told, anyway.

Train started off again, the group following with Saya closer than she had been before. Rinslet stepped up next to the younger girl, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"He's just pissy because he's all cold and wet. Like his namesake, he really doesn't like getting rained on." she told Saya, who grinned back at Rin. Or at least tried to. It came out more like a grimace than a real smile.

"Thanks." Saya said, grateful. The older girl nodded, chuckling.

"I'm sorry." she suddenly said. Saya blinked, surprised.

"Why?"

"Well…because of…what is going to happen to you." Rin muttered, eyeing Train to be sure the man did not hear.

"Was _is _going to happen?" Saya asked, "No one has bothered to tell me this whole trip. Train said it was protocol, but…"

"I can't really say," Rin said, and Saya sighed, feeling let down, "but only because I'm not really sure. All I do know is that Chronos will hold you for a while, and then return you to the person who asked for you."

"I wonder you did ask for me?" Saya wondered.

"I'm not sure. Do you kow anyone who would want you? Any ex-boyfriend who want their girl back?" Rin teased.

Saya chuckled. "Oh, no. I've never dated."

"Really?" Rin seemed genuinely astonished. "Why not?"

"D'unno. It never interested me. I just wanted to pass school. How trivial it all seems now…" she muttered.

"Yah, I hear you. But it never interseted you? Didn't you ever wonder what it was like to be kissed?" Rin quired. Saya's face flamed.

"O-of course not! I wondered occasionally what it would be like to have a boyfriend like my friends did…but no one ever expressed interest in me." Saya told her. Rin's jaw dropped quite comically.

"No intrest?! In _you_?! Were they bleeding _blind?!_" Rin screeched. Saya side-stepped, eyes wide.

"Uh…to the best of my knowledge…they could see fine." Saya responded, confused. Rin's palm met her face, and she groaned.

"Geez, girl! If you ever get a day with you, I am going to make you over! And then I'll show you the great thing about guys! M'kay?" Rin asked, though it was more like a demand, and Saya nodded, feeling a bit morbid at the thought.

'_Shopping with Rin, huh_?' the image of herself in Rin's type of clothing popped into her mind, and Saya had to stifle her laugh. '_I'd look horrid in a skirt!_'

"Okay, but as long as you promise not to dress me like…you." Saya told the girl, choosing her words carefully. Rin grinned at her.

"Don't worry! I'm the only one in this whole world who can manage this look!" she laughed. Saya sweat-dropped.

'_Yes, Rin. You sure are_.'


End file.
